Anniversary of Roe’s demise met with rallies, brings abortion issue front-and-center

As the country marks two years since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, ending nationwide constitutional protections for abortion and throwing the matter back to the states, and to the top of the political conversation, Gov. Maura Healey is set to announce a new “executive action” to protect access to abortion

According to her staff, Healey will hold a press conference on Monday to “highlight the ways in which Massachusetts has stepped up as a national leader in protecting reproductive freedom since the Dobbs decision” and will “announce new executive action to protect access to emergency abortion care in Massachusetts.

Healey’s executive action comes in anticipation of a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States,” which could determine whether federal law requiring medical facilities to “stabilize a patient’s health” preempts state laws restricting abortion. A decision in that case is due this week.

In the time since the end of Roe, more than a dozen U.S. states have enacted laws banning abortion or restricting it to a degree which would have been illegal under the now-overturned landmark 1973 court decision. Several others, including Massachusetts, have responded by expanding abortion protections.

In light of the anniversary of the anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi case leading to the end of long-standing abortion protections, and in response to state laws already making access to reproductive care more difficult or impossible for residents, advocates across the country announced rallies in support of a woman’s right to choose an abortion.

One such event was held Sunday at Quincy City Hall, when dozens joined the group March Forward Quincy to call for action. According to the group, since the high court made their decision known in the summer of 2022, the country has reached a “state of emergency,” transformed from a place in which all pregnant patients and their doctors could choose their best reproductive path forward to one where that decision lies with state legislatures or is made, not in a physician’s office, but a judge’s chambers.

“All across this nation, the ‘good ol’ boys’ are doing whatever they can to consolidate their power, control our bodies, and silence our voices. Judges are blatantly disregarding the law, science, and the limits of their own authority to dismantle our right to access abortion care. Legislators are going beyond gerrymandering and voter suppression to stripping democratically elected officials of their authority and criminalizing our right to protest,” event organizers said.

With their first debate of their rematch-election contest scheduled for just days after the Dobbs anniversary, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s campaigns have both taken up the abortion issue.

Trump addressed the evangelical Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “2024 Road to Majority” conference in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, reminding the audience that it was his appointment of one-half of the Supreme Court majority which ultimately overturned Roe and sent the decision to the states.

“We did something that was amazing,” Trump said.

The 45th President has not called for a nationwide abortion ban and has said in the past that if re-elected he will leave the abortion conversation to the legislatures. He said Saturday that he supports exceptions to abortion restriction for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest and to protect the life of the mother, but also acknowledged the third-rail nature of the issue.

“Every voter has to go with your heart and do what’s right, but we also have to get elected,” Trump said.

In a memo sent by the Biden-Harris campaign on Sunday, Communications Director Michael Tyler said that First Lady Jill Biden was in Pennsylvania, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff in Michigan, and U.S Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Wisconsin for some of the more than 50 events the campaign has planned to “hold Trump accountable for stripping away the fundamental freedoms of millions of women.”

Speaking with MSNBC for an interview to be aired Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris said that when it comes to abortion, “fundamentally on this issue, it’s about freedom. And every person of whatever gender should understand that if such a fundamental freedom such as the right to make decisions about your own body can be taken, be aware of what other freedoms may be at stake.”

Herald wire services contributed.

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